The police and judicial authorities in the southeastern state of Chiapas must explain a 12 October raid on Radio Proletaria, a community radio station in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in which arrests were made and the station was summarily dismantled.

The raid was carried out at night by around 30 armed and masked members of the police and the Chiapas State Attorney-General’s Office (PGJE), who did not identify themselves or show any kind of warrant. Six people were arrested, including a 14-year-old boy who works for the station. He was held for 24 hours.

All of Radio Proletaria’s broadcasting equipment was seized, reducing it to silence. Located in the premises of the Emiliano Zapata Popular Organization, the station is affiliated to the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

AMARC and Reporters Without Borders call on the Chiapas authorities to publicly explain what took place during the raid and why it was carried out. Was Radio Proletaria broadcasting on an illegal frequency? And if so, why couldn’t the authority have ordered it to comply with the regulations, without resorting to repression and censorship?

The Chiapas State Attorney-General’s Office has violated the right to impart information and must return the stolen equipment to Radio Proletaria without delay.

The arrest of a minor, who was denied the right to contact his family, was also a flagrant violation of the most basic rules of criminal law. While held, the boy was ordered to identify the home of three otherRadio Proletaria representatives. The officials responsible for this inadmissible procedure deserve more than administrative sanctions. And in the absence of legitimate charges, those still being held must be released.

The criminalisation of community radio stations in Mexico is nothing new. The methods used by the Chiapas authorities to intimidate this community and silence its radio station recall those used by the federal army and police against the indigenous radio station Uékakua in January 2009 in Michoacán.

In both of these cases, the American Convention on Human Rights was violated. The Organisation of American States should demand reparation by the Mexican authorities.

The Mexican community radio station “La voz de los campesinos” and the Egyptian journalist Amr Mamdou Ellisy will receive the UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication on 24 March.

The two laureates will share the US$ 20,000 Prize, which recognizes meritorious and innovative effort to improve communication for rural communities in developing countries. It is awarded every two years following a recommendation by the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), which acts as prize jury. The IPDC Council will hold its 27th session at UNESCO Headquarters from 24 to 26 March.

The radio station “La voz de los campesinos (The Voice of the Peasants)”, founded 32 years ago in the eastern state of Veracruz, was the first indigenous community radio in Mexico. The station promotes interactive radio communication with communities, encouraging them to share their history, customs and music, and helps reinforce the collective rights of the indigenous populations of Veracruz. Programmes are transmitted in three local languages in addition to Spanish. Transmission covers 400 communities, approximately 100,000 people. “La voz de los campesinos” is part of the Latin American Association of Radio Education (ALER) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

The award ceremony took place on Wednesday 24 March at 5 p.m. at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.